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washington�nty <br />March 26, 2019 <br />Representative Peter Fischer <br />District 43A <br />551 State Office Building <br />St. Paul, MN 55155 <br />Dear Senator Housley and Representative Fischer: <br />Board of Commissioners <br />Fran Miron, District 1 <br />Stan Karwoski, Chair, District 2 <br />Gary Kriesel, District 3 <br />Wayne A. Johnson, District 4 <br />Lisa Weik, District 5 <br />Senator Karin Housley <br />District 39 <br />3217 Minnesota Senate Bldg. <br />St. Paul, MN 55155 <br />I am writing to express the county board's support for House File 2314 (Chief Author: Fischer) and <br />Senate File 2372 (Chief Author: Housley) that provides certain spending and reporting requirements for <br />the Rice Creek Watershed District. The Rice Creek Watershed District contains property within four <br />counties (Anoka, Ramsey, Hennepin and Washington) and is managed by a board of 5 managers, with <br />one manager appointed by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. The Watershed District has <br />an annual budget of just more than $7.3 million and a property tax levy of just more than $4.7 million. It <br />is our understanding that roughly 20% of the property taxes used to fund the watershed district's capital <br />project costs and administration is raised and collected from Washington County residents. <br />The Washington County Board's appointee to the watershed district's board of managers is Mr. John <br />Waller. Mr. Waller does an excellent job of keeping the county board updated on the activities of the <br />watershed and supporting projects within Washington County that have a benefit to the watershed. House <br />File 2314 and Senate File 2372 provide for additional oversight of the activities of the watershed, <br />ensuring that the residents of the county that pay into the watershed benefit directly from its activities. <br />We understand that watershed projects, regardless of where they are undertaken, have benefit to the entire <br />watershed. However, we also believe that it is not unreasonable to assure that Washington County <br />taxpayers get direct benefits as well for their tax dollars. <br />Finally, we know this is a complicated issue. We believe this is a reasonable proposal that merits <br />discussion by the legislature. The county board will continue to work with the Rice Creek Watershed <br />District and its managers to ensure effective management of projects and resources of both the county and <br />the District. Please let us know if you have any questions. <br />Sincerely, <br />Stan Karwoski <br />County Board Chair <br />Commissioner District 2 <br />Cc: Representative Bob Dettmer <br />Senator Chuck Wiger <br />Washington County Board of Commissioners <br />Mr. John Waller, Rice Creek Watershed District Manager <br />Mr. Phil Belfiori, Administrator, Rice Creek Watershed District <br />Ms. Molly O'Rourke, Washington County Administrator <br />Mr. Bryan Bear, City Administrator, City of Hugo <br />Mr. Scott Neilson, City Administrator, City of Mahtomedi <br />Mr. Patrick Casey, City Administrator, City of Forest Lake <br />Government Center • 14949 62nd Street North • P. O. Box 6 • Stillwater, MN 55082-0006 <br />Telephone: 651-430-6001 • Fax: 651-430-6017 • TTY: 651-430-6246 <br />www.co.washington.mn.us <br />Washington County is an equal opportunity organization and employer <br />